Kogan slides under Google with a $119 tablet

Not everyone needs a tablet, but with prices dropping everywhere, it’s hard not to find a reason to try the slated computer out. Those of you still holding out may be harder pressed now, with Australian e-tailer Kogan creating the least expensive tablet we’ve seen.

Available in an 8 inch size, the Kogan Agora Mini looks to be a low-end tablet for anyone looking to try the segment out, packing in the bare necessities, but not much more, and tagged with a $119 starting price.

“We are big believers in functional, affordable hardware, backed by open source technology,” said Ruslan Kogan, CEO and founder of Kogan. “That’s why we’ve bet the house on Android for our range of tablets and smartphones.”

“Our previous 10 inch tablets were a huge success, selling out multiple production runs within days. But there’s always room for improvement!”

That improvement has come in the form of a smaller device with a 1.6GHz dual-core processor, up from the 1GHz chip we found in the 10 inch model reviewed last year. There screen is set to 1024×768 – no exactly the high-def display used by Google’s smaller Nexus 7 – as well as a MicroSD slot, HDMI port, Bluetooth 3.0, and a relatively recent version of Android, version 4.1, part of the “Jelly Bean” OS versions.

The $119 price tag will give customers 8GB of storage, while a 16GB model chimes in at $10 more, for $129.

The 10 inch model also receives an update to its processor technology, taking the same dual-core 1.6GHz processor with 1024×768 display, but running it with a 9.7 inch screen. There is a bigger battery here, but most of the specs and operating system remain the same, with the prices ranging from $179 for an 8GB model to $199 for the 16GB variant.